Voices: How can safety on UK motorways be improved? Join The Independent Debate

The government is being urged to bring back hard shoulders on smart motorways, following concerns about safety and wasted money on cancelled projects.

A year after the government scrapped the plans, the RAC is calling for either permanent hard shoulders to be reinstated or “dynamic” lanes on existing smart motorways.

Campaigners have labelled smart motorways as “death traps,” citing incidents where stopped vehicles were hit from behind.

And polling by the RAC in 2023 found that around seven out of 10 drivers (69 per cent) wanted the hard shoulder reinstated on all-lane-running smart motorways. At the time, the government claimed it would be too disruptive and expensive to do so.

We want to know what you think would improve safety on the UK’s road network. Would the reintroduction of the hard shoulder on existing smart motorways make you feel safer when you’re behind the wheel?

And what other measures - from lowering speed limits to more regular driving tests - should the government consider?

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